United Nations

Groves Warns Against US Membership in UNCLOS

July 20, 2016

Steven Groves of the Heritage Foundation writes that recent calls for the US to join the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea ("UNCLOS") to help enforce an international tribunal decision against China's claims in the South China Sea are misguided and that US action outside UNCLOS would be the most effective way to contain China's maritime ambitions.
FRA Advises Group on SDG Measurement

July 20, 2016

The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights has announced that it recently offered advice to a working group in Paris on how to collect data measuring the fulfillment of a provision of the UN Sustainable Development Goals to “promote and enforce non-discriminatory laws and policies for sustainable development.”
UN Leader Amplifies Call for Rights in Development

July 20, 2016

At a UN General Assembly debate on "human rights at the centre of the global agenda," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reiterated calls from UN officials and activists for governments to promote "individual and collective human rights," including controversial economic and social rights, as part of their efforts to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
UN Official Lauds Global Fishing Rules

July 20, 2016

At a recent event, UN Food and Agriculture Organization Director-General José Graziano da Silva applauded the recent entry into force of a global agreement to eliminate "illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing" and called for future international collaboration to impose regulations on all fishing practices.
Tribunal Ruling May Spur Aggressive Chinese Response

July 20, 2016

The New York Times reports that experts on China are predicting an aggressive reaction by the country's government to the unenforceable decision of an international tribunal determining Chinese claims to certain areas of the South China Sea, and its construction of artificial islands in these areas, have no basis under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
UNESCO Networks Ramp up "Sustainability" Education

July 19, 2016

UNESCO's Partner Networks of the Global Action Programme on Education for Sustainable Development recently met to discuss plans to "ramp up" efforts to include the UN's sustainability and climate change agendas in school curricula around the world.
UN Watchdog Issues Warning on Fraud

July 19, 2016

George Russell reports that an examination from the UN's Joint Inspection Unit of fraud in UN operations concludes that the absence of an effective approach to combating fraud in the international organization means that the under-reporting or lack of detection of fraudulent practices "could be significant and endemic."
ISO Launches "Sustainable Communities" Standard

July 18, 2016

The International Organization for Standardization has released a new standard that seeks to demonstrate among communities around the world how they can implement the UN's comprehensive social and environmental "sustainable development" agenda.
White House Announces Unilateral Action on SDGs

July 18, 2016

A memorandum from US President Barack Obama announces the establishment of a White House Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable seeking to expand access to justice for "vulnerable and underserved" people in the US as part of the government's pledge to "promote peaceful and inclusive societies" under the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
UN Report Slams UK on Economic "Rights"

July 18, 2016

A report from the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights asserts that the UK Government's cuts to social benefits violated the human rights of "disadvantaged and marginalised individuals" and called for the country to increase its minimum wage.